The New Face of Deception
by CourtneyBeth
Summary: AMC/GH Crossover. Greenlee Smythe has left town after the whole Leo/Laura/Jake disaster. Lucky Spencer has come to the realization that Liz isn't the love of his life. Also featuring various cast members from both shows. CHAPTER 1 NOW POSTED!
1. Prologue

The New Face of Deception

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Teaser: General Hospital/All My Children Crossover. Lucky Spencer has come to the realization that Liz isn't the love of his life. Greenlee Smythe has left town after the whole Leo/Laura/Jake disaster. Also featuring various cast members from both shows.  
  


Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, nor am I making any money off of them. They are the sole property of ABC and whoever else owns them.  
  


Distribution: Contact me at Manson5050@aol.com with the website address, and I'm sure I'll be more than happy to share my story!  
  


Background info: Branches off at the beginning of November 2001. In GH, everyone has just defeated Stavros and Helena, with the exception of Gia, who left town before finding out that Nikolas's behavior was all an act. In AMC, branches off the morning of Leo and Laura's wedding. Jake has just broken it off with Greenlee, who leaves her office before her father shows up. If anyone is confused about what's going on because you only watch one of the shows or you don't really know the history, feel free to email questions to me at Manson5050@aol.com.

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Prologue

            Lucky Spencer sat on the porch of his mother's house staring at the phone in his hand, the phone he'd just gotten off of after the hardest two hours of his life. He was a jerk. It was as simple as that. He'd broken the heart of the girl who'd always been there for him, the girl he'd promised to spend the rest of his life with.  
  


            He knew it was hard for Liz to understand. He hardly understood it himself. But as hard as it was, as awful as he felt for putting Elizabeth through all that he had and then breaking her heart on top of it, he knew it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do.  
  


            They weren't right for each other. Yes, he still loved Liz. A part of him always would. But they weren't each other's soul mates. They weren't "the ones," the loves of each other's lives.  
  


            It was kind of ironic. On the same day he finally remembered loving Liz, he realized that he'd never really loved her at all. Not in the way he should. If they were meant to spend their lives together, if they were meant to be each other's "always and forevers," no amount of programming could have made him forget. No rock could make a person forget that kind of love, no matter how powerful the Ice Princess supposedly was.  
  
  


            As the memories bombarded him the night before, as wave after wave of feeling hit him, as Liz's voice filled his head, one question above all else had plagued his soul, "How did this happen?" How did Helena erase all of this? How could so many memories just vanish into thin air? How could he have forgotten something that was so much a part of his life? Why wasn't he happier that he had finally remembered everything he'd ever felt for Liz? Why wasn't what he felt for Liz more than what it was? How had he let things between them spiral so far out of control? How could he possibly tell her it was over?  
  


  
            He'd managed to do it. Over the phone. He couldn't even do it face to face. As if Lucky didn't have enough things to feel guilty about, he'd had to break up with the girl who'd been his everything for years over the phone. As much as he'd wanted to explain things in person, as much as he'd wanted to make this a little less painful for her, there was no other way. It could be months before it was safe enough for Liz to return home, and he couldn't let her spend those months thinking he'd be there when the time came.  
  


            Lucky felt lost. Everything he'd held true for so long suddenly wasn't. His "future" was now a thing of the past. But as guilty as he felt, as lost and uncertain and confused as he might be, one feeling overshadowed all else on that monumental day: freedom.  
  


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            Greenlee Smythe inhaled deeply as she clasped her hands tightly on her lap. The events of the day, thus far, were surreal. She'd always been impulsive, but this was over the top, even for her. Everything that had happened that day was just so unexpected. Nothing had turned out the way it was supposed to.  
  


            Her day had started out normal enough. She'd walked into her office at Enchantment, stood there for all of five seconds, and that's where it all came crashing down. Erica stormed into her office, threw down a newspaper with the previous night's disaster plastered across the front page, and fired her. Then Jake had come by pronouncing he was throwing her out of his loft and, essentially, his life.  
  


  
            So she'd waited. Waited for Erica to come back and say that this was like all of the other times, that she wasn't really fired. Waited for Jake to come back and say he still loved her, that he understood why she had done what she'd done. She might not still be in love with Leo, but a part of her would always care about him, and that part of her couldn't let him condemn himself to a life of misery without putting up a fight.  
  


            Most of all, she'd waited for Leo. Waited for him to call of the wedding, waited for him to come begging for her forgiveness, waited for some sign that he'd seen the light and realized how much of a psycho Laura was. Waited in vain, because it never happened, not any of it. Erica, Jake, Leo...they'd all just written her off without a second thought. Well, if they thought she was just going to crawl away with her tail between her legs and her trust fund in the bank, then they were wrong. Dead wrong.  
  


            She was Greenlee Smythe, G-d damn it! She hadn't survived this long in life by letting people walk all over her. If Leo wanted to marry that psycho and believe Laura over her, that was his problem. Whether he realized the truth one month from now or one year from now, he'd eventually understand that all she'd ever tried to do was help him. Whatever misery he went through in the mean time was his own dumb fault. She was done bending over backwards trying to help Leo du Pres.  
  


            But Leo wasn't really the one she was mad at. Jake Martin was the lucky recipient of the vast majority of her anger, because however much she'd expected Leo to come to his senses, he'd never actually said anything to make her believe that. Jake, on the other hand, had just declared his love for her. Two seconds later, he'd dumped her. If he had that little faith in her, in their love, in the possibility of what could have developed between them if only given the chance, then he'd obviously never really loved her in the first place.  
  
  


            Good riddance. She was better off without them. For once in her life, Greenlee was going to do the smart thing, the non-self destructive thing, and just walk away from Leo and Jake, the two guys who'd caused her more pain than they'd ever even know. Her former boss, on the other hand, had another thing coming.  
  
  


            If Erica thought she could trick her into signing an unfair contract, order her around, treat her like a gopher, and then just fire her, she obviously underestimated her former employee. Erica Kane had finally met her match. She'd realize that soon enough.  
  
  


            All of this had hit Greenlee out of nowhere. She'd had a revelation, an epiphany, if you will. She was through with being the world's punching bag, the person everyone knew and hated. She was on her way to a new life, in a new place with a new job and a fresh start. Everyone would know her all right, but this time they'd love her.  
  


            Leo, Jake, Erica, and everyone else who'd ever screwed her over or treated her like dirt would be kicking themselves before long. Pretty soon, all of Pine Valley would take notice, because no one got the better of Greenlee Smythe. With all these thoughts, feelings, reflections, regrets, and plans swirling around inside her head, causing a jumble of confusion and intermittent moments of insanity, one feeling took precedence over all else on that monumental day: freedom.  
  


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Please feel free to email me at Manson5050@aol.com with any questions, comments, criticisms, compliments, advice, etc.


	2. Chapter 1

The New Face of Deception

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Chapter 1

            Laura Spencer was on cloud nine.  She couldn't believe her luck.  Just yesterday she'd defeated her lifelong enemies, Stavros and Helena Cassadine.  Now, she'd finally be able to stick it to the other always present thorn in her side, all because of one phone call.

            When Laura first started out with her little business venture, Deception, she'd never even considered the possible obstacles she'd be facing, namely Erica Kane.  Erica was the sole owner of Enchantment, Deception's biggest competitor, and to say the businesswoman was unhappy with her newfound competition would be an understatement.  Erica was livid, and she made certain that Laura felt the full extent of her wrath.  From snide remarks at social functions the two attended to publicly defaming her and her company, Erica left no stone unturned in her campaign against Laura Spencer, the woman who dared to take customers away from Enchantment.

            Up until recently, Laura had just let all of it role off her back without a second thought.  Up until recently, it was "just business".  Now, it was personal.

            When Gia Campbell had unexpectantly turned in her resignation and left town a few weeks ago, it left Laura with two major dilemmas.  First of all, the "Face of Deception" campaign no longer had a face, and the possible damages this could inflict on Deception's profits were astronomical.  More importantly, Laura was left with a broken hearted son when the woman he was still very much in love with practically disappeared off the face of the earth.  With these two very serious problems staring her in the face, the last person Laura needed to deal with was Erica Kane, so it shouldn't have surprised her when the obnoxious woman decided to give her a "friendly" phone call.  Not only did Erica congratulate her on managing to lose the only thing Deception had going for it, its model, but she also took the time to rub Laura's face in Enchantment's new ingenious campaign featuring the very beautiful and "enchanting" Greenlee Smythe.

            Greenlee Smythe.  The same person who'd called her up this morning, the reason Laura Spencer had a huge smile on her face.  Apparently, Deception wasn't the only company that was capable of losing its model.  It seemed as though Erica was stupid enough to fire the young woman who was now looking for a new job and a way to get back at her former employer.  Greenlee knew of the not-so-friendly feelings that existed between the two companies and of Deception's desperate search for a new model.  And with one phone call, Greenlee and Laura both got what they wanted, and Deception got its new face.

            Laura couldn't wait to pay Erica a "friendly" phone call.  But first things first, Greenlee's flight would be arriving shortly, and she needed to make sure her new goldmine had someone there to pick her up.

            Laura's brow creased with worry as she walked out onto her porch and took in the disheartening expression on her younger son's face.  Long after their guests had left the previous night, Lucky had remained as the two discussed the Liz situation.  Laura didn't know if he'd made the right decision.  They had all just been through a life altering experience, her son more so than the rest of them with his newfound control over his own actions.  Lucky was therefor not in any kind of emotional state to make a decision that impacted the rest of his life.

            Regardless of her personal opinion on the matter, however, Laura really couldn't do anything other than to just sit back and let her son live his own life.  Taking in a deep breath, Laura resolved to support Lucky in any way that she could, even if that meant biting her tongue or just offering a shoulder to cry on.  Right now, she planned on offering a distraction.

            "Lucky?  Are you alright?"  Laura's voice brought her son out of the contemplative state he'd been in ever since he'd hung up the phone.  Shock registered on Lucky's face as he became aware of his surroundings.

            "Yeah, Mom.  I'm doing okay.  It was the right thing to do."  Lucky once again reaffirmed the mantra he'd adopted ever since he'd called Liz.

            "Lucky, I know this is hard.  If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you.  Or if you just want me to shut up and let you deal with this on your own, I can do that too."  Laura wanted—no, needed for Lucky to know he had her unconditional support and love.

            "Thanks, Mom.  I'm not really sure what I need you to do right now.  I'm not really sure of anything right now.  My world's just kind of off its axis at the moment, and I'm not quite sure what to do to get it back on stable ground again.  The second I figure that one out, I promise you'll be the first to know."

            Laura's face visibly brightened as she remembered her original reason for interrupting her son's self-imposed exile from the world's general population.

            "I may not be able to help you out with the whole 'rest of your life' thing that you're dealing with right now, but how about you let a worried mother help you out with what to do for the rest of today?"

            "What do you mean?"  Lucky's eyes flashed with something vaguely resembling hope for the briefest of moments before adopting a stance of semi-curiosity.

            "Well, let's just say Deception is out of the water.  You'll never guess who called me this morning!"  Laura looked like a little kid on her birthday, giddy with the day's potential.

            "Who?"  Lucky decided to play along with Laura's game of "Guess Who" while promising himself he'd remember to thank whoever the person was who'd managed to put that kind of smile on his mother's face.  Just as long as that person wasn't Scott Baldwin.

            "Greenlee Smythe!"  Greenlee who?!  At Lucky's look of total bewilderment, Laura decided to explain.

            "Greenlee Smythe is the new 'Face of Deception'.  See, she used to work for Enchantment and was supposed to be the center of their whole new ad campaign.  Long story short, Erica Kane decided to act like even more of an idiot than usual, and Greenlee's now switched over to our side."

            Lucky, who knew of the long-standing feud between his mother and Enchantment, now understood the reason for her good mood this morning.  What he didn't understand, however, was his mother's comment about his plans for the rest of the day.

            "Um, Mom?  Not to sound self-centered or like I don't care, because I'm really happy for you and all, but what does this have to do with me?"

            "I was just about to get to that.  See, Greenlee didn't really have any loose ends to tie up, so she decided to come to Port Charles right away.  Her plane lands in about half an hour, and I need someone to pick her up from the airport and help her get settled in.  You know, show her around the town, find her a place to live, keep her from changing her mind before I can get her to sign a contract tomorrow morning."

            "And that someone would be me?"  Lucky didn't know whether to feel grateful for the distraction or weary at having to spend the rest of the day with a total stranger.

            "Well, you don't have to.  I just thought you might want to do a favor for the mother who loves you with all her heart?"  Laura's expression was a cross between a pout and that of a wounded puppy.  As predicted, Lucky's heart melted at the woman who'd do anything for him.  How could he not be a good son and do this little favor for her?

            "Oh, alright."  And with that, Lucky set into motion a chain of events that would rock his universe and forever alter the lives of all those around him.

* * * * *

            Greenlee had to remind herself to breathe as the plane continued its decent toward the runway.  Her anxiety had less to do with her childhood fear of flying as it did with the wave of reality that had just hit her.  She'd just gotten off her cell phone after completing a deep conversation with Jake's answering machine.  With no interruptions from her former roommate/sort-of boyfriend and no possibility of seeing him anytime in the near future, she'd really had no reason to hold anything back.  With the answering machine sporadically cutting her off, it had taken five phone calls to get it all out, but she'd done it.  She'd laid all her cards on the table and just told Jake everything she felt.  The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

            There were tears, there was yelling, there were moments of silence and moments in which she was completely incoherent, but in the end, she'd thanked him.  Thanked him for being there for her, thanked him for being a good friend to her, thanked him for loving her, thanked him for giving her the wake-up call she so desperately needed.  Living with Jake for all those months had taught her so much.  Greenlee realized that she wasn't useless. She was someone who could do things for herself, who could and deserved to be loved.  Being with Jake had taught her that there was so much more to her than the person that people thought she was.  Being with Jake had given her the courage to break out of society's expectations and start this new life for herself.

            So she'd thanked him, told him she was leaving town, and wished him luck.  She'd asked him not to worry about her and that the movers would be there Monday morning if he could be so kind as to let them into her penthouse, the penthouse she'd put so much time and effort into but would never even live in.  Most of all, she'd told him she loved him but understood that her actions had made it impossible to explore that love.  And with that, she'd said goodbye.

            Greenlee had sat there replaying the conversation in her head, wondering if she'd left anything out, when the pilot's announcement that they would be landing shortly jarred her from her thoughts.

            "Oh, shit."  Greenlee began to mutter under her breath as she took stock of her situation.  This was it.  She had really left Pine Valley.  She was really moving to New York, a place that had never even heard of Jake Martin or Leo du Pres, a place where Laura Kirk English du Pres wouldn't be everywhere she turned, sabotaging her and spreading rumors that she was "stalking" her.  Greenlee was really about to start a new life for herself, a life that would start in less than ten minutes when she stepped off this plane.  She was really free.

* * * * *

            Lucky glanced at his watch once again as he shifted in the hard, plastic chair.  Twenty minutes.  He'd been sitting in Port Charles's airport for the past twenty minutes waiting for some plane to land while a million questions ran through his head.  When was the plane finally going to arrive?  How was he going to recognize this Smythe person once her plane decided to grace the runway with its presence?  What exactly was keeping some stuck-up model company for the day going to entail?  What the hell had he been thinking when he let his mother talk—no, guilt him into doing this?

            "Flight 372, direct from Pine Valley, will be de-boarding momentarily."  The announcement at least answered Lucky's first question.  The immediate problem now at hand was recognizing this Ms. Smythe.  Laura had given him a vague description of the woman.  Long brown hair, brown eyes, short, slender, beautiful...How many twenty-something-year-old women could there be on one plane that fit that description?  With process of elimination, it wouldn't bet that hard to—

            Lucky's breath caught in his throat as he saw her.  Laura's description hadn't done her justice.  Why had she described her eyes as brown when there were so many other words she could have used?  Soulful, penetrating, hypnotic, captivating...enchanting.  Lucky had never believed in love at first sight, but he was beginning to see the error of his ways.

* * * * *

            Greenlee wrung her hands nervously as she took in her surroundings.  She was in an airport, like any other airport.  Paris, Milan, the good ol' US of A, they all looked the same.  The only clue as to her location was the "I love NY" t-shirts being sold by a nearby vendor.

            This was just great.  She was in a strange city after the longest morning of her life, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do.  Mrs. Spencer had told her she'd have someone right outside the gate waiting to meet her, but so far, no luck.  She had yet to see someone holding up some big sign that said "Greenlee Smythe" or "The Face of Deception", she had yet to get some psychic feeling pointing her toward this mystery person, whoever he or she was.  She didn't have osmosis.  How was she supposed to just pick out the person she was meeting from every other stranger in the crowd?

            That's when she saw him.  Blond hair, the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, the body of a G-d...She had to stop this line of thinking.  It wouldn't do her any good to fall head over heals for some guy who'd be gone from her life in the course of ten seconds.  It wouldn't do her any good to fall for any guy, for that matter.  Scott, Ryan, Leo, Jake...guys only caused trouble and heartache, and Greenlee refused to go down that road again.  She was starting a new life, a life that had the prerequisite of not falling in love.  Oh, well.  Looking never hurt anyone.  There was no harm in checking him out for just a little while longer.  His face, his chest, his—

            He was looking straight at her.  He was looking at her and he was walking toward her.  Why was he walking toward her?  Was he sick of her staring at him and wanted to tell her that she was freaking him out?  Great, just what she needed.  It was typical Greenlee luck to make someone think she was psycho just by breathing.  She had just set foot in Port Charles and within minutes, she'd managed to blow her chances for a fresh start.  Any second now, the hot guy would start yelling at her, cause a scene, land her in the local newspapers, and she'd be out of a job.  Again.

            "Excuse me.  Are you Greenlee Smythe?"  After drinking in her beauty for what seemed like eons, Lucky had finally worked up the nerve to approach her.

            It took Greenlee a few moments to register what had just happened.  First off, the guy wasn't angry.  Secondly, he'd asked her a question.  What had he asked her again?  Oh, right.  Was she Greenlee Smythe.  Wait a second.  He knew her name.  It all started to click for Greenlee.

            "Yeah, I'm Greenlee Smythe.  Are you the guy from Deception?"  It just figured that the guy would be a coworker.  Now, she'd get to remind herself of her "no falling in love" pact on a daily basis.

            "Hi, I'm Lucky Spencer."  Lucky extended his hand, which Greenlee hesitantly accepted.

            "Greenlee Smythe.  Are you by any chance related to Laura Spencer?"  Greenlee unconsciously held her breath while awaiting an answer.

            "I'm her son."

            Greenlee stifled a nervous laugh.  Even better.  The boss's son.  Forget her new "no love" motto.  If she wanted to keep her job, she'd have to forget any and all feelings of attraction that she felt toward the guy.  If she wanted to refrain from acting like a total idiot, she'd have to ditch the butterflies that were swimming around in the pit of her stomach too.

            "Are you alright?"  Lucky's question interrupted her moment of contemplation.

            "Huh?  Oh, yeah.  It's just been a really long day, even though it's just begun."

            "Tell me about it.  Are you hungry?"

            "What?"  The question caught Greenlee off guard.

            "Are you hungry?  It's a simple question."  Lucky's hand lay on Greenlee's lower back as he gently guided her through the crowded airport terminal.

            "Sort of.  I'm not a big fan or airline food.  Why do you ask?"  Greenlee flashed Lucky a coy smile, her curiosity piqued.

            "Well, my mother has designated me as you official tour guide for the day, so I figured what better way to kick off our tour than to show you the best damn diner in all of Port Charles?"

* * * * *

            Leo paced the hallway outside Jake's office like a caged animal.  The events of the past twenty-four hours were surreal.  It all started when Greenlee busted up his engagement party by showing up in that ridiculous gorilla costume the night before.  That part hadn't surprised him.  It was a typical Greenlee thing to do.  He'd expected—no, wanted her to show up and try something.  What surprised him was the way he'd treated her after the fact.

            Leo cringed just thinking about some of the awful things he'd said to her from outside her jail cell.  What was wrong with him?  This was the woman he loved, his soul mate, and he'd been nothing but downright nasty to her for months.  He'd sent mixed signals, he'd led her on, he'd pushed her away, but what he'd said last night had crossed the line.  No wonder that, contrary to what everyone had expected (and what Leo had secretly hoped), she hadn't tried to stop the wedding.

            Leo had stood up there at that altar, listening to Laura spew forth some sentimental crap she'd probably stolen from some dead poet who knew absolutely nothing about love, and waited.  Waited for Greenlee to show up and do something drastic, waited for her to declare her undying love, waited for the chance to apologize to her for his behavior and admit that he'd loved her all along, waited for her to save him from himself and this noble attempt gone horribly awry.  But it hadn't happened, so he'd had to just suck it up and get himself out of the mess he called his life all on his own.

            He'd managed to do it.  To the surprise of almost everyone in the church, he'd said "I don't."  The gasps of the guests, Laura's ranting, he hadn't heard any of it.  All he could hear was the voice in his head repeating "Must find Greenlee" over and over like a mantra.

            He'd checked her office at Enchantment, he'd checked her penthouse, he'd checked Jake's apartment and left message after message on Greenlee's cell phone, but still had yet to hear from her.  Leo needed to find her.  He needed to be the one to tell her about the aborted wedding.  He needed to be the one to see her face light up and hear the squeal of joy that Greenlee had down to an art form.  He needed to find her and soon, because the sooner that happened, the sooner he could apologize to her and tell her that he loved her, and the sooner she could forgive him.  He couldn't wait for them to kiss and make up.  He couldn't wait for them to start their lives together.

            So that's how he'd ended up here, pacing outside of Jake's office.  He'd run out of options as to where to search for Greenlee and had decided to swallow his pride and ask Jake if he knew where she was.  The only problem was that Jake was in the middle of surgery and might not be finished for hours.  In the mean time, Leo had no intention of moving from this spot.  Jake would be back eventually, Leo would find out where Greenlee was, and the two of them could finally be together.  He wouldn't rest until he'd made sure of that.

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Please feel free to email me at Manson5050@aol.com with any questions, comments, criticisms, compliments, etc. that you may have.  Also, if you'd like to post this story on your website, just send me the website address and I'm sure I'll be more than happy to oblige.


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